Why Politics Won't Save Us

Stop Letting 'Them' Control You

Aimee Q Devlin

and

Eileen McKusick

Nov 20, 2024

I’m always astounded by the outrage after an election.

It doesn’t matter who “wins”. there’s always someone who’s butt hurt.

You know, the person who proceeds to lash out and vomit the contents of their psyche over the people around them who are living their best lives.

The projection is real. It’s guilt, shame, disgust, and outrage with division at its core.

I’m so curious why humans continue to fall for it.

I wonder if it’s because it’s always more palatable to believe someone is going to “save us” than to admit the truth—that they aren’t and they can’t.

We’re so addicted to giving our power away and pointing the finger at the “bad people” that we don’t realise the world is this way because of us.

Yes you. And me. Us.

When you sit with that sentence, it’s a bitter pill to swallow. But it’s also the seed of something amazing—if you allow it to be. 🌱

If you’ve built your personality by taking on external beliefs and ideologies as your own, you don’t understand what I just said. You’re still looking for someone to blame.

But if you’ve built your personality by asking questions, thinking critically, and changing your mind as you receive new information, you’ll be nodding with a knowing as you read my words.

I don’t fit the mould, never have.

I’ve never voted and never desired to—even though it’s “compulsory” in Australia.

As a whole, Australians aren’t a political culture—we’d rather be at the beach. Perhaps this is why we’re coerced to vote through the threat of punishment.

Yes, in Australia, if you’re registered to vote and don’t, you’ll be fined unless you give a “valid and sufficient reason” for not voting. (No, I don’t know if politics being a complete farce is considered a valid and sufficient reason, but you could test it out and let me know.) If you don’t pay your fine, it’ll keep increasing, and soon you won’t be able to renew your car registration or Drivers Licence. How wonderful.

I’m told those from the USA consider voting to be “one of the key freedoms of American life”, which is why they show up to rallies, wear badges, and erect signs of their allegiance on their lawn.

Meanwhile, the Aussies show up 10 mins before closing to draw a dick on their paper just so they don’t get fined.

Compulsory voting is an interesting beast.

I vividly recall the moment when I was seventeen, a flicker away from graduating school, and sitting in history class, when an electoral official entered our classroom, threw green pamphlets on our desks, and requested we sign and hand them back to her so she could return them to her overlord.

We were told it was “compulsory” to enrol now that we were turning 18. Being my rebellious and reflective self, I sat and stared instead of signing. And when she asked for my pamphlet, I told her I’d take it home to think about it.

My predominant thought was one of disbelief that I, a girl who just wanted to dance, write, and gossip with girlfriends, was considered responsible enough to vote. It seemed ludicrous and irresponsible, especially as the electoral official drummed it into us how important our votes were to be.

That was 23 years ago. I’ve never voted and I still don’t care to.

From where I stand, it’s even MORE insane to have 18 or 21 year olds voting nowadays, because they’re infinitely more confused, brainwashed, and immature than I was all those years ago.

I later realised what a badass move it was to not sign the paper that day. I hacked the system before they got to me. Most Aussies I speak with don’t even remember how their name got on the electoral roll. They don’t want to vote, but can’t get their name removed. So they, like so many others, choose to show up or cop a fine.

I hold firm that it’s ridiculous to be coerced to choose between two people you don’t know, like, or trust, and request for them to rule over you for an arbitrarily specified amount of time (especially if you’ve done ANY form of research into the two wings of the bird and the grander workings of the Machine).

I’ve always thought there must be a better option than, as South Park put it, choosing between a giant douche and a turd sandwich.

(For context—and giggles—please watch this short video…)

One such option, if I may naively share, would be having people vote on their answer to various individual issues or questions. Such as:

“Should we stop adding fluoride to the water?” Yes or No.
“Should we abolish income tax?” Yes or No.
“Should we feed nourishing meals to kids at school?” Yes or No.
“Should we subsidise homeopathy?” Yes or No.
“Should we spend your money bombing innocent people?” Yes or No.

I think that would be a spectacular plan. And I don’t have a politics degree (nor do I want to debate about it if you’re busting to tell me why that plan wouldn’t work).

I’ve always felt confused by having to “choose a side”.

What do you mean I have to want to homestead, protect myself with a gun, and worship Jesus?

What do you mean I have to want to feed the homeless, care about the environment, and pretend men can have babies?

We see this all the time with politics in the USA.

We’re presented with the false dichotomy, are you a Democrat or a Republican?

Erm, how about I choose my own beliefs?

Newsflash: there are other options to choose from. I don’t want any part of your boxes that only serve to divide, thank you.

Twenty-three years ago, seventeen-year-old me sensed something my classmates didn’t—that I should take time to think about this decision, and that politics is a farce and no amount of voting is going to change the world.

So how do we change the world?

Well, my friend Eileen McKusick put it so eloquently in a recent heartfelt video, that I decided to add my visuals to her words and share this with you instead.

I’ve dubbed the video, “Why Politics Won't Save Us.”